32 Week update

So I made it to 32 weeks which is a really good thing. Babies born at this point have a really good chance of survival without longterm complications. The big benchmark/goal is 34 weeks (Emma was born at 34 weeks to the day). The doctors say they won't do much to stop labor after that point.

Anyway I went in for another ultrasound today and that turned into a rather interesting experience. I go to the maternal/fetal specialists for my ultrasound so it's way more in depth each time than a typical one. But of course as I went in today, I was feeling out of breath and my heat was pounding - normal life these days. But while I was there I started feeling much worse. I got dizzy, nauseated, and my heart rate shot up. I could hardly breathe and had to interrupt the ultrasound a few times to stabilize myself. This of course worried the nurses and doctors. Then we saw through the ultrasound that the baby is measuring big - really big for 32 weeks. He weighs approximately 6 pounds already and looks closer to 35 weeks. (no wonder I feel huge and my maternity clothes are getting small). And there is a ton of extra amniotic fluid (which is kinda weird since I am not diabetic). This is good in a sense because of all the preterm labor issues, but bad in regard to how my body will be able to handle getting even bigger with all the heart issues I am having.

The doctor immediately checked me into a hospital room (ultrasound is right next to labor and delivery) to do a stress monitoring test on the baby. So I got hooked up to five different machines meant to monitor both my and the baby's vital signs. Everything looked okay, especially once my heart rate started going down. But my resting heart rate was still elevated, so the doctor is talking to my other doctors about getting me on drugs to reduce it (yes I have multiple doctors for all this, it's kinda crazy). He says the pregnancy (since the baby is a boy) needs to go at least 3 more weeks, but that he is not sure if my body can take that or be able to deliver safely. So I am waiting to hear if the doctors think I can handle the drugs and if that will actually help with anything. Exciting times. Oh and Mike and Emma were there the whole time. Emma was a tad confused by the whole thing, but enjoyed watching cartoons in the hospital room. And so the pregnancy adventure continues...